Worse than a buffoon. A businessman.

Dambala has more (much more in fact) on photographer Bernardo Wade's background. Bernardo is believed responsible for organizing the "leadership award" banquet planned for Mayor Ray Nagin next weekend.

Meanwhile, tomorrow's Gambit will feature a Clancy Dubos column which goes a bit over-the-top, perhaps, and compares Nagin's sham award with the many medals Idi Amin gave himself. I like the column but I also think that comparing Nagin to a monster like Amin (even in jest) can be read as a bit shrill.

Besides the analogy misses the mark. While Amin's ceremonies play as the acts of a delusional buffoon, events like this "Excellence in Recovery" party are a much more subtle form of institutional control. An event like this is more like a company banquet or staff party where everyone is assembled for the implied purpose of demonstrating the social order of the office. Often there is the pretext of minor business. A new policy is announced, perhaps. Or the CEO makes a speech. Or... in many cases... meaningless awards are distributed. Often the employees in attendance are told that management always "values their input" but also that "it's important that we all act as a team".

It's a tried and true corporate method of soft bullying. It reminds everyone that disagreeing with the decisions of those in charge would be an inappropriate breach of the sense of camaraderie and "teamwork" established by the phony party. And since everyone's reputation and/or job depends on it, they end up just gritting their teeth and applauding through the event.

Seeing a "businessman" like Nagin who ran in 2002 as a "reformer" with "business credentials" (not to mention the endorsement of Gambit) involved in this kind of soft-bullying phoniness only reaffirms that we are indeed "running the government like a business". Comparing Nagin to an evil buffoon like Amin obscures that point... although it is revelatory of what the Dragonslaying types like Clancy always imagine they are up against.


Update: Please see also the comment thread below Clancy's post for several interesting points from Carmen re: Stewart Juneau. And also note that Clancy has managed to work Rising Tide III into his schedule. If this excites you, now would be a good time to register.